As the swirl of punches - and counter-punches - have surrounded the re-election campaign of Gov. Rick Scott in the last 10 days there's one person who hasn't said much up to now.
That's Lenny Curry, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.
Curry says he got the emails from billionaire donor Mike Fernandez, who abruptly stepped down in March from his post as finance chairman amid disagreements with the Scott re-election team. Those emails - which have been detailed in Politico as well as The Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times - dwell on everything from an alleged incident where staffers mimicked a Mexican accent to complaints about paranoia among top campaign staff and problems with Scott's chief of staff Adam Hollingsworth.
The response from Scott's team - including Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera - has been to deny the incident. One of Scott's political consultants in Politico called Fernandez a "renegade donor" who had sent a "bizarre email."
Fernandez himself was on Miami television this week, however, and WPLG quoted Fernandez as telling them that he believed the incident happened. When asked whether he left the campaign because of concerns about reaching out to Hispanic voters, you can see Fernandez pause and then say that he exceeded the goals of the campaign to raise $30 million without really answering the question.
Curry for his part has a slightly different take from some others in "Scott world" on the entire episode.
He spoke in glowing terms about Fernandez, saying he was an integral part in helping both the campaign and the Republican Party raise money this past quarter. (The party on Monday said it raised more than $10 million in the first quarter although this figure has not yet been verified.)
"He and I have shared the same goal and that's to re-elect Rick Scott," Curry said.
Curry called Fernandez's emails expressing concern about the campaign part of an "internal" discussion and dialogue.
"He was saying to the campaign where he thought we could be doing things differently," Curry said.
Curry said he remained "grateful" for the work Fernandez did and said "it's unfortunate he felt frustrated" about how the campaign was running.
As for the incident that Fernandez said showed cultural insensitivity, Curry said that if he had evidence that it took place those responsible would be fired.
"I don't see any evidence of Republican Party of Florida employees saying those kind of things," Curry said. "I won't tolerate that."
There are differing opinions about how important these entire events have been the last few days.
It's self-evident that the campaign and the party have tried hard to steer news away from this narrative. They have launched web ads and the party even this week disclosed its fundraising numbers 10 days early (when in the past it used to be the party discuss any of this until the actual filing deadline with the state.)
When asked about the decision to release the fundraising numbers early, Curry said it was a very successful quarter and then added "Mke had a lot to do with that."
And that's the real issue going forward. The news of Fernandez's departure will fade as the session ends and the campaign veers into hyperdrive. But will all of this affect fundraising going forward?
Scott has been described as one insider as a "machine" when it comes to raising money.
But one has to wonder as the dog days of summer are upon us - and the session is over - whether or not the money will continue to flow like it has been. Maybe some Florida donors will decide that amid all this that they need evidence that Scott is convinced enough of re-election effort that he will reach into his own pocket again.
Scott has publicly stated he has no plans to spend his own money like he did in 2010 when he spent more than $70 million.
But if his goal - as he once said - is to raise $100 million to go after his opponent - then he and others still have work to do.
SCOTT IS A SAVAGE ANIMAL, A BRUTE, A BULLY with waaay too much$$ to overwhelm dumbies who will vote for anyone . sheesh
How can America survive such savage crude bullying with no control over $ or honor or truth.
Is the middle class DEAD?
Vote ABR=VOTE ANYTHING BUT REPUBLICAN. YOU need to bury these criminals out to Ruin America.
DO YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY? VOTE AGAINST SCOTT AND EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN UP FOR GRABS!
VOTE ANYTHING ANYTHING ELSE. THEY ARE SCREWING YOU TAXPAYERS AND AMERICA. DO YOU CARE?
IF SO VOTE SOMETHING ELSE--ANYTHING ELSE consistently.
OR Ladies, be prepared to line up for chastity belts. And the rest of us must plan to evacuate from USA! ASAP READ, INFORM YOUSELVES, AND VOTE SOMEBODY/ANYBODY ELSE or YOU will rue the day.
Posted by: Sandy Oestreich | April 03, 2014 at 12:32 PM